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Santo Imperio Ibérico
The Santo Imperio Iberico, the Holy Iberian Empire, is a nation-state comprising the entire Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands, and Northern Morocco. It's short history is marked with political upheavals that have only just ended with the consolidation of power in the form of Empire, and the Empire's relationship with the Papacy which resides within Iberian territory. History Little was recorded before the creation of the first incarnation of the Iberian-state, the Gran Ducado de Iberia better known as the Grand Duchy. Before this time little is known of the political systems that jigsawed the Peninsula that would soon become dominated by the Empire, though it is well documented that the region now known as the Iberian Peninsula was part of the now crumbled Roman Republic and later Roman Empire. After the first collapse of Roman imperium, the land would be conquered and reconquered many times over from combatants ranging from Muslims to Visigoths. After the collapse of the last conqueror's dominion, the Iberian Peninsula seemed to fade into a realm of dozens of seperate communities, disconnected save for trade and religious pilgrimmage. This apparent lull in activity on the Peninsula would soon be answered by the rise of the House of Banderas in Northern Iberia in the region of Castille and Leon. Here the House, under rule by the Duke Antonio I, formed the first true nation-state on Iberia since the end of Roman rule. It would be known as the Grand Duchy of Iberia and would form the backbone of many of the modern institutions still in place in the Empire. Antonio I quickly made great strides in uniting the realm under his rule. He consolidated power in Northern Iberia almost instantaneously, gaining the regions of Galicia, Navarra, and the Basque Country, and many others. Soon he could feel the opposition to his still unconsolidated rule however, and thus began a system to both bolster and improve the at-the-time feeble and amateur Iberian military. He created the Royal Guard and Royal Navy to act as the armed forces of his kingdom and then continued to unify the middle and southern kingdoms. Catalonia. Valencia. La Mancha. Portugal. All bowed to the rule of Antonio I and agreed almost unanimously to the creation of a unified Iberia. Next, Antonio I found that his nation required spiritual guidance, a unified voice in the Christian patchwork of ideologies that dotted the known world. He set about to establish the Papal City, home of the Papacy, who would oversee and administer the Catholic affairs. It was not long before the nations of Catholicism signed on to such an idea, and out of this a great ally was formed with the introduction of Normandy into the nearly formed Papacy's flock. Elections were held to find the Pope who would lead such a city with the first Pope originating from Iberia itself, Bartolome de Las Casas who took the name Pope Michael I. But Antonio I's time was not forever, and at the age of 78 the Duke died of still undetermined circumstances. His son, Antonio II, was quick to consolidate his newfound power however. He quickly ordered any reference to his father to be stripped from any governmental or royal buildings and lands to be replaced by his own likenesses. He began a process of loyalty-oaths and then turned his attention to keeping his power safeguarded from any sort of usurpers. Thus began what was known as The Inquisition. A period in Iberian history where 'Inquisitors' would act as judge, jury, and executioner in any case involving political or religious dissidents. Evidence was openly arbitrary, punishment severe, and investigations ruthless. None were safe from the Inquisitor's hand and the violence caused by the mass executions and tortures created a growing pool of those discontent with Antonio II's rule, an ironic effect of the crackdown. And so, as soon as Antonio II's rule was hatched it was ended. Just several years into his reign mass demonstrations began to take place around now unified Iberia. Two main protests created the most tension between the people of Iberia and the crown, one demonstration taking place on Easter Sunday in Zaragosa, and another, larger one, taking place on the anniversary of Iberian Unification in Madrid. The Madrid protest called on the official abdication of the Duke, with an ultimatum that suggested either peaceful transition or bloody revolt. The insinuation of open revolution alarmed the Papacy that just miles away from Madrid, causing the Pope to send Holy Templars to confront the protesters. These forces were then met with defected Iberian Royal Guardsmen, determined to protect the Iberian citizens. Hostilities between Iberian forces and the Templars was halted though after the confirmation that the transition of power would not lead to Iberian secularism. With the Pope, now hailing from Normandy, no longer backing his rule, Antonio II quietly abdicated his throne, ending decades of Banderas reign and the Grand Duchy. He would later die in the Papal City from heart failure. A provisional government was then established in the power vacuum left by Antonio II, a government headed by the revolution's leader Salvador Dali to oversee the newly formed Grand Republic of Iberia. Hoping to dissuade any continued revolution due to any similarity between the authoritarian rule of Antonio II, Dali's government was able to organize elections quickly resulting in the election of President Dali and the national legislature or Great Assembly. At first the Great Assembly appeared to work much to the delight of the Iberian people. While taking care of domestic problems such as creating roads and setting taxes, the Great Assembly seemed at ease. This would change of course, fairly rapidly during the crisis in the Mediterranean due to the Papal conflict with the state of Nagrenda in northern Africa. Nagrenda has seized Catholic lands, and appeared to be belligerent towards Catholic nations in general. Such acts caused the Papacy to launch a Crusade into Tunisia hoping to be backed by Iberian forces in Iberian Libya, a war trophy gained from the Crusade into the Caliphate under Antonio I. The Great Assembly showed its true nature in the weeks and months following the Papacy's declaration of Crusade into Muslim lands. Calls for neutrality in the conflict, limited engagement, and even the attack on other nations not implicated in the current Crusade were all put forth and argued relentlessly in the Great Assembly with no winner being seen. President Dali, leader of the armed forces of the Grand Republic, was angered by such disunity and felt his responsibility to at least send troops as a deterrent to Nagrenda attack. By sending warships and troops to Iberain Libya he had sealed the Republic's fate however. At the sight of Nagrenda ships hoping to blockade Iberian Libya, far outgunning the small Iberian fleet, and with no orders to attack, the Iberian fleet turned back in shame towards the Balearic Islands to regroup. In the surprise turn of events, Nagrenda seized Iberian Libya, a great blow to the Republic. And yet the arguing was not over, and for weeks on disputes rattled the now fractured and beaten Assembly. Many Representatives simply walked out, disowned their positions in the government to return to their homes in their respective regions. Dali too walked out of office, telling those that were still left behind that, "Democracy is dead, and we killed it". Yet again a power vacuum was left in Iberia. A hole to be filled by another democracy? Another monarch? For weeks it was unknown with regional governments taking the load of the broken and illegitimized republican government. Then, the questions were answered. A military leader, a General forced back to Iberia despite his wishes to attack the Nagrendan heretics. His name was Francisco Franco, and with clout he forced his way into national view. The military, on his side like loyal dogs of war, slingshotted Franco into power over the disunified regional governments, once again unifying Iberia and consolidating power. He then went to the Pope, largely overlooked by the Republic, and asked to be crowned Emperor of a new, Holy, Empire in Iberia. The Pope gladly obliged and crowned Francisco Franco the Emperor of the Holy Iberian Empire. A new age had dawned on the Peninsula, an age of power and faith. War Iberia has been involved only in a handful of conflicts in recent history, with its various leaderships shifting in both military readiness and foreign policy on when to actual engage in open warfare. Early on, during the Age of the Duchy, Iberia lacked a formal military requiring the building-up seen by the policies of Antonio I during his reign. The same as true for Antonio II, hoping to bolster the Iberian forces and ready to commit his soldiers where needed though no conflict occured during his breif reign as Duke. The Age of the Republic saw a drastic shift in Iberian foreign policy, where the military was continued to be upgraded and augmented but the problems of the Assembly saw little committing of troops. Only time will tell what future is in store for the Empire, though the military experience of the Holy Emperor Francisco I may play into his foreign policy objectives and actions. First Crusade The first formal war fought by Iberia came with the first formal crusade of the newly created Papacy, representing the general will of the Christian Faith. The forces of the Catholic nations combined, along with the forces of the Israeli Empire, to subdue the hostile and belligerent Caliphate that attempted to claim several Catholic assets while imposing its will on the Holy Land. As the forces of Israel occupied the Caliphate forces to the east, the Catholic forces sweeped in spearheaded by the Iberian Royal Guard to attack the Caliphate's western lands. The move was a rousing success leading to the gaining of Iberian Libya by the Grand Duchy (later lost to Nagrenda during the Second Crusade), and a belief in Iberia of the supremacy of its military. Second Crusade The second conflict Iberia played a role in, which is stretching it, was the Second Crusade declared by the Papacy. In Iberia, the term Second Crusade is used intechangeably with the 'Shameful War' as it has begun to become known as. The reason for this is because the conflict showed the problems the Grand Republic was dealing with, as well as begging the question of what Iberia's role would be in the future. The 'conflict' itself consisted of the sending of Iberian forces to act as a deterrent for Nagrenda, the target of the Crusade, to attack Iberian Libya. In fact, Nagrenda's navy had begun to blockade Libya before the Iberian fleet could get to it, leading to an altercation with the Nagrenda forces that ended with no shots being fired, the retreat of the Republican Navy, and the loss of Iberian Libya to the Muslims. All were great blows to both Iberian holdings and its self-esteem as the entire event was seen almost universally as a failure for the Republic in terms of foreign policy and unity. This event would lead to the dissolving of the Grand Republic and the ascension of Francisco Franco to the role of Emperor of the newly created Holy Iberian Empire. Category:Empire Builder 6 Category:Nation